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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. race — humankind
  3. rule — a law
  4. press — to push
  5. net — for catching
  6. drill — the tool
  7. net — after costs
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — a publisher
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bark — to shout
  16. race — a contest
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. race — the arms race
  19. row — a line
  20. stem — to come from
  21. drill — army training
  22. net — in sport
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. row — to paddle

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com